Already

Without dramatic intervention North Dakota’s natural gas flaring — already costing about $100 million/month — is going to get worse even if the percentage of total production flared goes down, as state and industry officials predict, according to a report released Monday by Boston-based social responsibility nonprofit organization Ceres.

In recent months, the Arizona Geological Survey (AZGS) has examined shale oil and natural gas potential in southeastern and westerly parts of the state, in addition to the already exploratory drilled northern formations, particularly in the northeast Four Corners area in which the Mancos Shale is found.

The United States claimed the title in 2012 for the leading production growth for not only natural gas but also oil, boosted by its considerable unconventional stores, according to BP plc’s annual benchmark of global energy resources.

A district court judge has reconsidered her decision last month to pass a key surface rights case on to the highest court in West Virginia, the Supreme Court of Appeals.

After a short-lived lull in late fall, North Dakota’s oil and natural gas production set new records at the end of last year, and the issuance of new drilling permits in January surged, the state’s Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) reported Friday.

Two colleges already playing a significant role in shaping the development of the Marcellus and Utica shales — Ohio State University (OSU) and West Virginia University (WVU) — have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to create a joint program on shale energy research.

Piedmont Natural Gas, a major natural gas distributor based in Charlotte, NC, has signed a 15-year contract with Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. to purchase a “meaningful portion” of its natural gas supplies from the Marcellus Shale beginning in December 2015.

Norway’s Statoil ASA on Wednesday said it has snapped up another 70,000 net acres in liquids-rich areas of the Marcellus Shale for $590 million in cash. The portfolio additions, which give the producer full or joint partnership in close to 750,000 net acres in the play, are spread across West Virginia and Ohio.

Next year already is shaping up as another growth spurt for natural gas as a transportation fuel, based on recent announcements. American Honda will be coming off a record sales year for its compressed natural gas (CNG) Civic models, which will have added styling and features next year, but those 2013 cars will not be on the market until all of the 2012 CNG Civics are sold, the company said at the end of November. Ford F-450 and F-550 trucks are being converted for utility and other fleet work by Seattle, WA-based World CNG and by Vancouver, BC-based Westport Innovations. World is providing dedicated CNG conversions and new F-550 Ford trucks, using a bodymaker, Caseco Manufacturing and its Oklahoma City-based installation partner, Clear Sky CNG. Westport said by mid-2013 it will have converted F-450 and F-550 CNG bifuel trucks outfitted at its Kentucky Integration Center, a Ford-qualified NGV modifier. Separately, the city of El Paso, TX, has contracted with Mansfield Gas Equipment Systems to design, build and operate three CNG fueling stations on city property to fuel city-owned and leased vehicles.